Rogue Gym fighters enjoyed two Muay Thai seminars from world renowned instructors over the weekend which set them up nicely for a ‘smoker’ show next week.
The seminars on Saturday, were organised by Rogue’s Muay Thai instructor Grey Brett and conducted by Canadian Brett’s friend Kru Mikey Perez who is the owner of Southside Muay Thai in Toronto.
Perez is a multiple federation featherweight world champion in recent years and recently competed for the Northern Thailand title.
The other instructor, Poo Choi Bruce Ong, won a world lightweight title last year and is a former training partner of Brett.
The smoker is on 29 September at the Rogue Gym on West Bay Road, beside Treasure Island, when fighters will be matched in an afternoon session. The first smoker in February was an incredible success. Chris Dinan is the promoter.
Smokers are informal gym shows for fighters to have bouts in front of a small crowd to gauge their progress and keep them motivated. It breaks up the monotony of just constantly training. Each fighter is having their first Muay Thai match. Some have some grappling experience while others have some boxing experience.
The smoker will include Muay Thai, boxing and grappling matches. Food and beverages are included in the $25 ticket price, sponsored by XQ’s and CayBrew.
“The seminars were better than expected,” Brett said. “Everyone who added the seminars noted how valuable the experience was.
“Participants really took to the teaching style of Mikey and Bruce. Everyone had smiles on their face and sweat on their brow and I was asked repeatedly when Rogue Gym would be holding another event with them.
“The instructors were impressed with how dedicated and how interested our fighters were in traditional Muay Thai. They continually commented on how knowledgeable and talented the participants were and they cannot wait to come back and do it all over again.
“They loved the island, the people they met and they are grateful for the opportunity to share the art of Muay Thai with people who are genuinely interested.”
Brett added that the fighters learned immensely and certainly added a number of higher level techniques to their repertoire.
“The task now is to retain that familiarity with consistent practice so that the new skills can be applied in a competition. The fighters are certainly more confident and feel much better prepared as they know they have been working on techniques their opponents have not learned.”
As a bonus, Brett was honoured for his excellence in martial arts. “Kru Mikey Perez awarded me with the title Poo Choi Kru. This is an honour that I do not take lightly as it comes with a lot of responsibility and it has taken me years of diligent practice, training and teaching to be considered for this privilege.
“Poo Choi is a world recognised level within Muay Thai and can only be awarded by a Kru after he has been granted permission from his Ajahn (master) of which there are only a handful in the world.
“I am so honoured to have on-going opportunities to teach technique, as well as to work with others in building courage, vision, respect, inner strength and discipline through Muay Thai.”
Although Rogue Gym fighters gained tremendously from the seminars, they will not have easy matches against mostly fighters from karate instructor Bob Daigle’s stable next week.
Brett added: “The Rogue Gym fighters are in for a tough challenge. For each of them this is their first fight but I’m confident that the training they have been undergoing has prepared them for this step up.
“I trust that they will be able to demonstrate the superior level of training offered at Rogue Gym and that they will come out victorious. We have training hard and have a deep team that has been helping our the fighters become the best they can. It’s going to be great!
“We would like to thank our sponsors for both events, Rogue Gym, FitLine Mobile Sports, Sunshine Suites, Sunshine Grill, CayBrew, XQ’s, Cayman Fight Factory, AAP plumbing electrical and air conditioning and AAP Solar The Treasure Island Swim School, Relevant Holdings Ltd and Everything Under The Sun Gardening and Landscaping.”
The matches are Juneau Barnett against Alex Daigle at 175 pounds, Kenny Dryburgh and Darwin Lanza at 145, Luigi Ordonez and Jeff Jackson open weight, Dave O’Driscoll versus Bobby Daigle at 160, Andrew Ford facing Troy O’Neil at 190 plus Garry Tierny and Ryan Charles at 145 in an exhibition match.
There will also be some grappling matches.
For tickets and more information, contact [email protected] or phone 916-2271
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